Thanks! for sharing- George.
Recommended amp for Thiel 3.6 -- newbie
Hello all. As a newbie to this, I’ve read a number of the forum posts, and have gotten some wonderful information and education. And, as this particulary question, Thiel 3.6 recommended amps, was pretty old, thought I’d post my own specific questions. I know so little about this, I’m sure to make some idiotic mistakes, but I’ll learn.
I just purchased a set of the Thiel 3.6s, and then read that they’re significantly hungry for both power and quality components. Although my budget is not unlimited, I have no buyer’s regret, as these seem to be a wonderful speaker set to grow into, with advancing upgrades as time goes on.
My room is about 27’x40’x9’, rug floor, combined living room, dining room; with the entertainment center in the right half of that space. My listening area is about 14’ back, and I generally expect to listen at mostly low to moderate levels. I like accurate, but I don’t like loud. I confess the system I was looking at was Denon AVR-x7200, rated at 150wpc -- but even that is confusing to me: One place says 150wpc, another 260w. The specs seem to be high at 0.05% THD, but the boards seem to reflect that many aren’t a fan of the Japanese disclosures. On all the boards I’ve read, no one recommended that system, in favor of, say, Theta, McCormack, Adcom and others. And the crickets were pretty deafening.
My prime use is for music from those speakers; but I would love to plug in HT application as well, with ultimate 4k passthrough, Network Attached Storage, Internet Radio, and Airplay and/or AppleTV -- those are the things that led me to the Denon in the first place. And even though the boards were critically silent (only one reference, and a negative one at that), I wondered if it was simply because those threads were old.
So for now, I’m kind of looking at Theta -- almost certainly in the used market. I saw a Dreadnaught unit go off recently, so perhaps with enough patience a similar thing might come around again. And see also (currently) a Casablanca unit. --But this is confusing. The Casablanca seems to return some of the HT features that I’d like, and while I’d like to think this is a solution, read the term "pre-amp", which suggests to me that this alone would never be a solution to power those Thiels. Perhaps this AND Dreadnaught. Or something similar. Or something else. --And for that matter, might the Denon 7200 itself, if not an ideal system, be used as a "starter system" -- acceptable for now -- and then morphed in pre-amp type of deal later, using it's connective controls, with some sort of quality amp downstream?
Thanks much for the consideration to this question and long post.
I just purchased a set of the Thiel 3.6s, and then read that they’re significantly hungry for both power and quality components. Although my budget is not unlimited, I have no buyer’s regret, as these seem to be a wonderful speaker set to grow into, with advancing upgrades as time goes on.
My room is about 27’x40’x9’, rug floor, combined living room, dining room; with the entertainment center in the right half of that space. My listening area is about 14’ back, and I generally expect to listen at mostly low to moderate levels. I like accurate, but I don’t like loud. I confess the system I was looking at was Denon AVR-x7200, rated at 150wpc -- but even that is confusing to me: One place says 150wpc, another 260w. The specs seem to be high at 0.05% THD, but the boards seem to reflect that many aren’t a fan of the Japanese disclosures. On all the boards I’ve read, no one recommended that system, in favor of, say, Theta, McCormack, Adcom and others. And the crickets were pretty deafening.
My prime use is for music from those speakers; but I would love to plug in HT application as well, with ultimate 4k passthrough, Network Attached Storage, Internet Radio, and Airplay and/or AppleTV -- those are the things that led me to the Denon in the first place. And even though the boards were critically silent (only one reference, and a negative one at that), I wondered if it was simply because those threads were old.
So for now, I’m kind of looking at Theta -- almost certainly in the used market. I saw a Dreadnaught unit go off recently, so perhaps with enough patience a similar thing might come around again. And see also (currently) a Casablanca unit. --But this is confusing. The Casablanca seems to return some of the HT features that I’d like, and while I’d like to think this is a solution, read the term "pre-amp", which suggests to me that this alone would never be a solution to power those Thiels. Perhaps this AND Dreadnaught. Or something similar. Or something else. --And for that matter, might the Denon 7200 itself, if not an ideal system, be used as a "starter system" -- acceptable for now -- and then morphed in pre-amp type of deal later, using it's connective controls, with some sort of quality amp downstream?
Thanks much for the consideration to this question and long post.
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- 33 posts total
Thanks much George. I had seen that page, and frankly, don't completely understand it. (And I'm a graph info type of guy.) What I got out of that piece was that the 3.6s tend to operate at pretty low ohms. And that consistent draw on low ohms would be a stress to the amplifier. But how much was much, was still a puzzle to me. And, honestly, I'm still not sure how the whole system should be set up: If I go with something of higher quality (ML, Bryston, etc.) These have no volume control, which implies to me that these are downstream from a pre-amp or controller of sorts. What type of solution might bring me CD, DVD, NAS, Internet Radio, perhaps HT? A pre-amp, plus one of the commonly recommended solutions? Or is this unit, then plus an amplifier, something toward what I'm looking for? Or for that matter, is that unit standalone enough? (I suspect not, as I saw no power ratings.) And if anyone can answer, I'm still confused over the power ratings. Many have said here that the 3.6s should have 200 watts, plus, at a minimum. The Denon I had been looking at was rated 9 channel, at 150wpc. Or something like 260 overall. Is that sufficient? Or is it 150 per channel toward the recommended >200? Or is it two channels, 300 toward the >200? Forgive me for this most basic question. And, if it's that per-channel number in quest of that >200, might it be possible to somehow bi-amp two of the nine channels to achieve an effective 300w? I'm surely not using the overhead speakers anytime soon. |
And if I may re-ask the question, Might that Denon AVR-x7200 unit be an acceptable start to this system (with the 3.6s)? And might that be used as a pre-amp or controller to a future upgrade where a more powerful amp is connected in line later? If that's the case, it may be a viable path forward as it gives me the various features I would like (CD, DVD, Internet radio, Airplay, etc.) and still stay within my budget, while a later upgrade would be a further enhancement. Any thoughts, recommendations from this community on this? Thanks! |
donzi If I go with something of higher quality (ML, Bryston, etc.) These have no volume control, which implies to me that these are downstream from a pre-amp or controller of sorts. Right then, sorry only read your title, if you need an integrated type amp with volume control then the same applies you need an amp that can deliver current Look at one s that can almost double their specified 8ohm wattage eg: 100w and then make sure the 4ohm wattage almost doubles (200w) and if you can get it the 2ohm should rise again. One integrated amp I know that can come close is the Parasound Halo Integrated, this may suit your needs and has a dac inside as well. If you need surround sound amp then you should look at Krell, ML, Theta, maybe Parasound. Cheers George |
- 33 posts total